Holleran Answers Need For The Warriors

Deft feet are not a prerequisite. But they must have hands of glue, a quick horizontal drop and the moxie to leap into crowds for crosses.

Tendencies toward pathological behavior and a fondness for Led Zeppelin are helpful but not necessary. They are an uncommon sort.

It almost does not seem fair that perennial powerhouse Kecoughtan, the team that least needs strong goalkeeping in the Peninsula District, should have the two best net-minders in the district.

One is senior Sean Holleran, who led the Warriors to district titles and the Eastern Region finals as a sophomore and a junior. He was an all-region first team selection in 1989.

The other is senior Sean Harrington, who is proving his mettle this season. He has five shutouts in six games and a goals-against average of 0.17.

"Last year, we had the two best goalkeepers in the league and Sean (Harrington) never got to touch the ball," Kecoughtan Coach Alan Lindsay said.

The pair gives Lindsay a nice problem: Which Sean receives the nod as starting goalkeeper? Both are 6-foot-1. Holleran is strong on high shots; Harrington is quick on low balls. The resolution came last winter.

Holleran and Harrington play on the same winter league team, coached by Lindsay. They split minutes in goal. To maximize his indoor talent, Lindsay began using Holleran in the field when Harrington was guarding the posts. Holleran responded with solid field performances, and Lindsay had solved his problem.

"He's a terrific field player," Lindsay said of Holleran. "I told him, `I need you in the field'... He was like, `Fine, whatever the team needs.'"

The Warriors have not often been in a needy position, winning five consecutive district titles and 10 in the program's 14-year existence. Although the rest of the league has come closer to the Warriors, winning has become a hard habit to break.

Things are indeed going well when a team can take its all-everything goalkeeper out of the nets, place him on the front line, and not miss a beat offensively. Holleran has five goals and four assists this season, including a hat trick in a 9-0 victory against Bethel. He has surprised opposing goalkeepers, who are not accustomed to watching Holleran roam the other half of the field.

"Ninety percent of the people ask me, `Why aren't you in the nets?'" Holleran said. "I told them I'm doing what's best for the team. I`m not hurting the team because we have confidence in Sean Harrington."

And they should. Harrington gave up his first goal of the season in the second half of Friday's 2-1 victory against district rival Lafayette. Nevertheless, Harrington looked strong, coming off his line several times to intercept passes.

"Sean Harrington is every bit as good as Sean (Holleran)," Lindsay said. "Any time you step in and replace a first-team all-regional player, you're doing something."

"We've had two all-district goalkeepers on the same team for two years," Holleran said. "Sean is really quick, he's got great reactions and soft hands, and he reads the game very well. There were times last year where I was really scared. I'd see him over there on the bench and ask myself, `Why isn't he in here?'"

Harrington has attracted the attention of the soccer program at VMI, where he will play next year as a freshman.

"It was a little frustrating at first," Harrington said. "I always knew I'd have a shot eventually. It wasn't like I thought he was better than I was. ... I had patience. I knew my time would come."

This year is special for Harrington, who is trying to make a name for himself in his own district. Opposing forwards are somewhat confused by the tall, blond kid in goal.

"A lot of them come up to me and say, `Hi, Sean,'" Harrington said. "And I'm there saying to myself, `I don't know this person. How does he know me?'"

While the switch has helped Harrington, Holleran has sacrificed exposure and his passion for goalkeeping for the benefit of a young team that feeds on his leadership.

Mary Washington College and Mount St. Mary's have both courted Holleran, who is trying to attract attention at Virginia Tech as well.

"Playing in the spring, you get recruited your junior year," Lindsay said. "You don't get recruited your senior year. He's proved he can play goalkeeper. Obviously, when he goes to college, he's going to play goalkeeper."

The thrill of climbing on top of an attacker's shoulders for a loose ball, guessing right on a penalty kick and racing 20 yards out to stop a breakaway is more difficult to replace.

"I miss being in the heat of things," Holleran said. "We're a different breed. It's been said that goalkeepers are a little off the edge, that they have to have something loose."